In countries where winter is a significant season, ice hockey is a popular sport. Because of the rigorous Physical activity involved in playing the sport, combined with the co-ordination necessary to excel, it is also a favoured activity for fitness purposes and, in particular, for fitness activities involving school children. However, the vagaries of the outside ice conditions, coupled with time constraints in physical education classes and the outside weather often dictate that the hockey be played inside. As such, indoor floor hockey has evolved to a popular sport and fitness activity in its own right.
The pucks presently used in floor hockey are typically, plastic-like pucks of the same general dimensions as an ice hockey puck. These plastic pucks, while being durable, do not properly simulate the motion of an ice hockey puck, they leave the floor frequently when struck by a stick, they are non-deformable and hard and therefore sting when hitting people which can cause apprehension and an outright refusal to play by the participants. Other pucks have also been used in various configurations and of various other materials but they all suffer from disadvantages similar to those mentioned.